Titel ( sr-Cyrl, Тител, ) is a town and municipality located in the South Bačka District of the province of

Vojvodina Vojvodina ( ; sr-Cyrl, Војводина, ), officially the Autonomous Province of Vojvodina, is an Autonomous administrative division, autonomous province that occupies the northernmost part of Serbia, located in Central Europe. It lies withi ...

Serbia , image_flag = Flag of Serbia.svg , national_motto = , image_coat = Coat of arms of Serbia.svg , national_anthem = () , image_map = , map_caption = Location of Serbia (gree ...

. The town of Titel has a population of 4,522, while the population of the municipality of Titel is 13,984 (2022 census). It is located in southeastern part of the geographical region of Bačka, known as Šajkaška. The town is famous for the fact that the

Tisza river The Tisza, Tysa or Tisa (see below) is one of the major rivers of Central and Eastern Europe. It was once called "the most Hungarian river" because it used to flow entirely within the Kingdom of Hungary. Today, it crosses several national bo ...

flows into the Danube there.

Name

In Serbian, the town is known as ''Titel'' (Тител), in Hungarian as ''Titel'', in German as ''Titel'' (and sometimes ''Theisshügel''), and in

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

as ''Titulium''.

History

The Titel Plateau is an elevated region between the

Danube The Danube ( ; see also #Names and etymology, other names) is the List of rivers of Europe#Longest rivers, second-longest river in Europe, after the Volga in Russia. It flows through Central and Southeastern Europe, from the Black Forest sou ...

and Tisza rivers, close to the confluence; about ; roughly . It has an ellipsoid form and is characterized by steep slopes at the margins. It has a substantial loess cover and is often called the Titel Loess Plateau; the

loess A loess (, ; from ) is a clastic rock, clastic, predominantly silt-sized sediment that is formed by the accumulation of wind-blown dust. Ten percent of Earth's land area is covered by loesses or similar deposition (geology), deposits. A loess ...

on the plateau is considered to contain the most detailed terrestrial palaeoclimate records in Europe, with a thick and apparently continuous record extending to the middle and late Early Pleistocene. It represents a major archaeological site at the Danube-Tisza confluence with prehistoric and ancient findings. Early medieval sources are scarce. Slavs are mentioned in the area in the late seventh and early eighth century, while Magyars (Hungarians) settled the Pannonian Plain in 896, already in the next century holding the Tisa-Danube confluence. Grand Prince Árpád (r. 895–907) is believed to have defeated the Bulgars ( Salan) at Titel. Titel was an important strategical location, and was included in the Bács County.

Ladislaus I of Hungary Ladislaus I (, , , ; 1040 – 29 July 1095), also known as Saint Ladislas, was King of Hungary from 1077 and King of Croatia from 1091. He was the second son of King Béla I of Hungary and Richeza of Poland, Queen of Hungary, Richeza (or Adela ...

(r. 1077–95) and his brother Lampert founded an Augustinian monastery here. On 17 October 1389 a Clement was inscribed at the Vienna University, who in Titel taught reading and cantillation. In the 1400s, Titel belonged to the Serbian despot Đurađ Branković. In 1439 Albert II's army awaited in Titel military aid from the county to help Đurađ Branković defend

Smederevo Smederevo ( sr-Cyrl, Смедерево, ) is a list of cities in Serbia, city and the administrative center of the Podunavlje District in eastern Serbia. It is situated on the right bank of the Danube, about downstream of the Serbian capital, ...

, but the aid never arrived. From 1526, the town was part of the

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

. According to the first Ottoman census from 1546, the town had 87 houses, of which most were Serb, three were

Croat The Croats (; , ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina and other neighboring countries in Central Europe, Central and Southeastern Europe who share a common Croatian Cultural heritage, ancest ...

, one Hungarian, and one Vlach. The duke of the town was Vuk Radić. That census recorded that five of the citizens were

immigrants Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not usual residents or where they do not possess nationality in order to settle as permanent residents. Commuters, tourists, and other short- ...

, meaning that others lived there before Ottomans conquered the town. In the outset of the Ottoman rule, the town had one Orthodox and one Catholic church. In the first quarter of the 17th century, the town had three mosques, two tekkes and three

medrese Madrasa (, also , ; Arabic: مدرسة , ), sometimes Romanization of Arabic, romanized as madrasah or madrassa, is the Arabic word for any Educational institution, type of educational institution, secular or religious (of any religion), whet ...

s. From 1699, the town was part of the

Habsburg monarchy The Habsburg monarchy, also known as Habsburg Empire, or Habsburg Realm (), was the collection of empires, kingdoms, duchies, counties and other polities (composite monarchy) that were ruled by the House of Habsburg. From the 18th century it is ...

. It was included in the Habsburg Military Frontier. Between 1750 and 1763, the town was under civil administration (in the Batsch-Bodrog County of the Habsburg

Kingdom of Hungary The Kingdom of Hungary was a monarchy in Central Europe that existed for nearly a millennium, from 1000 to 1946 and was a key part of the Habsburg monarchy from 1526-1918. The Principality of Hungary emerged as a Christian kingdom upon the Coro ...

), until it was returned to the jurisdiction of the Military Frontier ( Šajkaš Battalion). Between 1763 and 1873, it was the headquarters of the Šajkaš Battalion which, using small armed vessels on the Danube, defended the Austrian border from Turkish attack. However, as early as 1750, the riverboat patrols, manned by the Šajkaš regiments, had begun to operate at Titel. When the Military Frontier was abolished, the Serbs emigrated to Russia in massive numbers. At that time, Banat and the Šajkaš area slowly began to lose its distinctive Serbian character. Hungarians, Germans, Slovaks, Ruthenians and others began to move into the region. In 1848 and 1849, Titel was part of

Serbian Vojvodina The Serbian Vojvodina () was a short-lived self-proclaimed autonomous province within the Austrian Empire during the Revolutions of 1848, which existed until 1849 when it was transformed into the new (official) Austrian province named Voivodes ...

, a Serb autonomous region within the Habsburg Empire. Between 1849 and 1872, it was again part of the Military Frontier, and after 1872, it came under civil administration as a part of the Bács-Bodrog County within the Habsburg Kingdom of Hungary (part of

Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...

). In 1910 there were 5,792 inhabitants: 2,413 Serbs and 1,858 Hungarians. By religion, there were 2,353 Serbian Orthodox; 2,479 Roman Catholics; and 89 Jews. After 1918, the town became part of the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes The Kingdom of Yugoslavia was a country in Southeast and Central Europe that existed from 1918 until 1941. From 1918 to 1929, it was officially called the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes, but the term "Yugoslavia" () has been its colloq ...

and subsequent South Slavic states. During the

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Hungarian occupation, in a 1942 raid, 51 inhabitants of the town were murdered, of whom 45 were men, 1 child, and 5 old people. By nationality, victims included 49

Serbs The Serbs ( sr-Cyr, Срби, Srbi, ) are a South Slavs, South Slavic ethnic group native to Southeastern Europe who share a common Serbian Cultural heritage, ancestry, Culture of Serbia, culture, History of Serbia, history, and Serbian lan ...

, and 1

Jew Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, religion, and community are highly inte ...

Inhabited places

Titel municipality encompasses the town of Titel, and the following villages: * Vilovo * Gardinovci * Lok * Mošorin * Šajkaš

Demographics

As of 2011 census, the municipality of Titel had a population of 15,738 inhabitants.

Ethnic groups

The total population of the Titel municipality was 15,738, including: * 13,615

(86.51%) * 822

Hungarians Hungarians, also known as Magyars, are an Ethnicity, ethnic group native to Hungary (), who share a common Culture of Hungary, culture, Hungarian language, language and History of Hungary, history. They also have a notable presence in former pa ...

(5.22%) * 264 Romani (1.68%) * 1037 other and undeclared. All settlements in the municipality have an ethnic Serb majority.

Economy

The following table gives a preview of total number of employed people per their core activity (as of 2017):

Notable people

* Svetozar Miletić (1826–1901), advocate, politician, mayor of

Novi Sad Novi Sad ( sr-Cyrl, Нови Сад, ; #Name, see below for other names) is the List of cities in Serbia, second largest city in Serbia and the capital of the autonomous province of Vojvodina. It is located in the southern portion of the Pannoni ...

, the political leader of

. He was born in the village Mošorin in Titel municipality. * Mileva Marić (1875–1948), Serbian

mathematician A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...

, and

Albert Einstein Albert Einstein (14 March 187918 April 1955) was a German-born theoretical physicist who is best known for developing the theory of relativity. Einstein also made important contributions to quantum mechanics. His mass–energy equivalence f ...

's first wife. She was born in Titel. * Isidora Sekulić (1877–1958), writer. She was born in the village of Mošorin in the Titel municipality. * Dušan "Duško" Popov, Serb double agent, on whom author

Ian Fleming Ian Lancaster Fleming (28 May 1908 – 12 August 1964) was a British writer, best known for his postwar ''James Bond'' series of spy novels. Fleming came from a wealthy family connected to the merchant bank Robert Fleming & Co., and his ...

based his character

James Bond The ''James Bond'' franchise focuses on James Bond (literary character), the titular character, a fictional Secret Intelligence Service, British Secret Service agent created in 1953 by writer Ian Fleming, who featured him in twelve novels ...

. * Dragomir Lalin (1924-2013), was born in Titel. He was a Serbian dissident, under the regime of

Josip Broz Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslavia, Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 unti ...

. Dragomir Lalin was the founder of Milan Vidak wire factory and Garant auto engine parts factory in Futog.

Gallery

File:038 Titel, Knicanin, Tisa, Danube - Serbia.jpg, Aerial view File:Titel Orthodox Church.jpg, Serbian Orthodox Church of the Dormition of the Theotokos File:Titel Catholic Church.jpg, Catholic Church in Titel File:Titel4.jpg, Abandoned church in Titel

References

Sources

*Marko Jovanov, Devet vekova od pomena imena Titela, Titelski letopis, Titel, 2001

External links

Official presentation of Titel municipalityOfficial presentation of Titel Local CommunityRavnica magazine - Titel Current Local News
{{Authority control Places in Bačka Populated places in South Bačka District Municipalities and cities of Vojvodina Towns in Serbia